Activists, Family Of Thurman Blevins Demand Charges For 2 Mpls. Officers

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The family of Thurman Blevins is demanding officers be prosecuted in the shooting death of the 31-year-old black man in north Minneapolis.

Blevins was shot and killed by Minneapolis officers responding to a call of a man firing a gun in residential neighborhood on the evening of June 23.

On Monday morning, Blevins' family members called the shooting a "murder" and demanded that the officers involved be held accountable.

"They had time to tase him, they had time to grab, tackle him down…but they waited until he got into that blind spot, which was that alley, where no one could see him," said Darlynn Blevins, Thurman Blevins' sister.

Minneapolis police and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension have said the officers were responding to a 911 call of a man firing a gun into the air and into the ground -- an account backed up by a 911 transcript.

Days after the shooting, the BCA said that Blevins was armed. It was a version of events that appears to be supported by witness Robert Lang, who told WCCO that he heard the officers say "drop the gun" before shots were fired.

"When the shots stopped, then I came around the corner," Lang said on June 24. "Police had not even come up to him yet. Probably a foot and a half from him, on his right-hand side, was a firearm."

Blevins was a convicted felon and was not allowed to carry a firearm - a point emphasized by Minneapolis Police Federation President Bob Kroll.

"His actions led to those unfortunate circumstances," he said. "Our officers did what they had to do to protect themselves and the public, and it will be a justifiable shooting."

Blevins' family members said they were hoping to see the police body camera footage as soon as next week. Mayor Jacob Frey has said that the video will be released as soon as possible.

The two officers involved, Ryan Kelly and Justin Schmidt, remain on what Minneapolis police describe as routine paid leave following a critical incident.

A community meeting to discuss Blevins' death is slated for Wednesday evening at Jenny Lind Elementary School in north Minneapolis.